FloJet Portable Macerator Pump

[sdandrsn]

I am considering purchasing an FloJet portable macerator pump.  I was wondering if anyone had experience with this.  Can you add a DC plug so it can plug into an DC outlet in my water compartment?  Also, has anyone tried dumping into their home toilet with this?

Thanks,

Steve

[mweiner]

Don't know what kind of macerator pump we have, BUT,  I can tell you that it's one of the best features on our RS Adventurous.... It was installed on our rig as a factory feature. Didn't know how easy dumping the tanks would be, and I'm pleasantly surprised

We don't even hook up at RV parks, no need to do that.  We pull up to the dump station,  pull out the coiled hose that is permanently attached to our rig,  put it in the hole, open the valve and press a button.... yes, it's that easy.  

I'm not sure that the brand of  macerator pumps matters that much, they all grind up and discharge your black and grey water tanks. 

The faster you get this the easier it will be for you.  If I were you, I would definitely get this professionally installed. 

We have not tried dumping it into the toilet at home, but we have a clean out drain that goes directly to the sewer in the front of our house..and we have dumped there. If you have a drain like this outside, I recommend doing that.  

If our macerator pump ever failed, it would be in the shop tomorrow to fix it, yeah, it's that important...

What's your rig?

Good luck.

[obedb]

We used a fllojet with our travel trailer. Had a 35 gallon poly tank in the bed of our F-150 and while dry camping, it was a real help to extend our stay. Worked very well. I used alligator clamps on the pos and neg wires and hooked up to a battery.

[sdandrsn]

6 hours ago, MWeiner said:

What's your rig?

Good luck.

We have a 2014 Winnebago Vista 35B. 

[mweiner]

That's a lot of coach for the money... nice looking rig and toad.

Surprised it didn't come with the macerator pump built-in.

[mweiner]

What's your fuel economy in this.. pulling the car?

[BillAdams]

Depending upon where the coach is built, including a macerator may be illegal (Oregon is one of those locations).  Too many RVers rigged them so they could pump the poo into the woods while driving down the road.  My coach was originally setup that way so I am not speculating here.

[hermanmullins]

Steve,

Welcome to the Forum.

Pumping into your house toilet would be a really bad idea. Your house should have what is known as a sewer clean out. It is used when you have a stopped up drain line to clear a obstruction. You can remove the cap and use your macerator to pump out your tanks. Pumping into your home toilet might cause a back up that you don't even want to thank about.   

Herman

[five]

We had an OEM macerator.  Like virtually everybody I know, it has been removed and now gathers dust in storage.  Biggest complaint was very slow, took for ever to dump.  I heard so many negative comments from so many people, I never tried it, just took it out.  We have two macerator toilets, so dumping is very easy.  These toilets do such a good job, one in our group leaves his black tank open and treats it like the grey tank...says never had a problem.

[mweiner]

Five- REALLY? You would "remove the macerator pump"?

Don't know what your system was, ours is really fast...

On the Roadtrek RS Adventurous....the discharge hose is only about 3 inches wide... comes right out on the driver's side like an accordian snake and goes back in just the same... you pull it out, open the valves for the appropriate black and then grey water separately.... There's a red button on the left side of the driver's seat to start the pump...it pumps everything out... coil up the hose close the side panels underneath the fender skirts and you're ready to go....

I would NOT ever consider getting rid of that. 

How easy was it dumping your American Eagle? I've seen pictures of that coach online, what a magnificent machine. 

[mweiner]

Bill, you wrote

"Depending upon where the coach is built, including a macerator may be illegal (Oregon is one of those locations). " 

What are you saying here??   Are you suggesting that macerator pumps cannot be used in Oregon??

I certainly hope that is NOT what you're saying. 

Do you know of any locations where using a macerator pump is ILLEGAL? 

Please advise.

[mweiner]

Steve- 

I agree 100 percent with hermanmullins.... you can dump in the clean out drain like mine at your house...I can't even imagine how or why you would want to dump the RV into the toilet inside your home.... just getting the hose there is logistics nightmare.. let alone the back up...I should have mentioned that in my earlier post. 

[BillAdams]

Installing macerators in RV's being built is illegal in OR.  If you have one and use one it is not illegal.  Not sure about your macerator setup but the one mentioned by FIVE and most macerators have a 1" discharge hose and it can take close to 1/2 hour to empty a large holding tank.

[jleamont]

As Bill said up to 1/2 hour to empty a large tank equipped coach, no thank you! Our coach had one and I told the dealer to remove it before we picked it up. I can empty a full Black and Gray tank in under 2 minutes and be on my way with a standard RV sewer hose. Plus its one more thing that needs maintenance, that can and will break (as we all know this will happen with full tanks), clog with hair....etc... The biggest concern was the length of time to evacuate the tanks, at a dump station with a line behind you, you don't want to be "the guy" holding everyone up. I watched a video on you tube about those, and watched some poor guy trying to lean a coach so he could fix his to empty a full black tank, which required removal of the unit, no one would touch it due to the fact the tanks had waste in them, bio hazard and he was on his own with it.

[jleamont]

Sorry, you asked about rigs

2002 Holiday Rambler Imperial 40PKD, Cummins ISL 400 with Compression Brake. All propane appliances (and tank) removed and replaced with electric. Roadmaster RM8H chassis (not to be confused with the RR8S).

[five]

36 minutes ago, jleamont said:

As Bill said up to 1/2 hour to empty a large tank equipped coach, no thank you! Our coach had one and I told the dealer to remove it before we picked it up. I can empty a full Black and Gray tank in under 2 minutes and be on my way with a standard RV sewer hose. Plus its one more thing that needs maintenance, that can and will break (as we all know this will happen with full tanks), clog with hair....etc... The biggest concern was the length of time to evacuate the tanks, at a dump station with a line behind you, you don't want to be "the guy" holding everyone up. I watched a video on you tube about those, and watched some poor guy trying to lean a coach so he could fix his to empty a full black tank, which required removal of the unit, no one would touch it due to the fact the tanks had waste in them, bio hazard and he was on his own with it.

Mwiener....this is why I got rid of my macerator system.  To answer your question...the Eagle dumps fine.

 

[blakeloke]

We have a factory installed macerator on our coach.  We've been RV'ing for decades and agree the macerator is slower.  But, I've no problem with the time it takes because I don't have to fiddle with connections (hose is permanently affixed to discharge of pump) and I get positive pressure when dumping which works very well when on uneven terrain.

Usually I dump tanks the night before we leave then do final empty as we break camp.

The only problem we've had with our macerator (in 12 years of use) was when dry camping.  To conserve grey water capacity we empty our dish water pan into the black tank via toilet.  That particular time there was a utensil that got dumped into the black tank also.  Once home I had to disassemble the unit to fish out the utensil (yuck).

We're just a little more careful now and no longer own that particular utensil!

Blake

[jleamont]

I have been is so many situations where time was of the essence and waiting wasn't an option, and if it clogged with hair (three females showering it will clog). That one gadget would ruin a day.

I am a firm believer of K.I.S.S! Keep It Simple Stupid. Example; when we go to leave for a day trip from the coach, I walk over and dump gray from the morning showers, shut the water off to the coach, at that time DW and kids are sitting in the Jeep waiting for me, and they are using water just before we walk out and lock the coach, gray tank is completely full by now after 4 showers. Or I am at the one dump station with a line 8+ behind me, pacing as we all have somewhere to be.

[mweiner]

 

jleamont- you wrote; 

"I have been is so many situations where time was of the essence and waiting wasn't an option, and if it clogged with hair (three females showering it will clog). That one gadget would ruin a day.

I am a firm believer of K.I.S.S! Keep It Simple Stupid. Example; when we go to leave for a day trip from the coach, I walk over and dump gray from the morning showers, shut the water off to the coach, at that time DW and kids are sitting in the Jeep waiting for me, and they are using water just before we walk out and lock the coach, gray tank is completely full by now after 4 showers. Or I am at the one dump station with a line 8+ behind me, pacing as we all have somewhere to be."

I believe in keeping it simple.... BUT, people may have to wait..now and then. 

When you are on vacation, who cares.... And, there's a waiting line everywhere in LA, we're used to it.   

As for clogging up the showers, anyone can do that... My advice is use a drain screen or better yet, just use the facilities where you are staying....they can all shower at the same time provided there's three open shower stalls available... 

We try and keep the bathroom facilities on our coach like an "emergency facility"...we use it in the middle of the night or if we stop somewhere and there's no convenient bathroom around...

And, we're more mobile than most of you in the Class A units.  Our tanks are much smaller and we can dump them a lot faster because they're small. Hmm, "one inch discharge hose?? I'm going to measure ours....I think it's larger than that... but, I'll check.. 

Like some of you above, we clean off plates with a paper towel and rinse them off..we NEVER throw food down the drain... 

I doubt that many of you have garbage disposals on your rigs?? Do you?

 

[jleamont]

Mr. Weiner, I was referring to the macerator clogging with hair (very common failure point internally at the impeller), not the drains in the coach. Being on vacation is more of a reason to manage time to its fullest as it is so limited. 1/2 hour per day x 7 days 3.5 hours per week empting waste tanks, that could calculate to one less museum or point of interest I cannot visit. Now my maintenance list just added one more item I have to maintain and deal with when it fails.

I agree, people now and then have to wait, unfortunately in todays world technology has made most impatient. I am not going to explain the importance of patience to a line of traffic at a dump station.

In your situation with smaller tanks and a light use duty cycle a macerator might be a good fit for your application. With the potential of 137 gallons to empty, its not practical. No we do not put food down the drains, plates and utensils get wiped then washed.

I have only ever peeked inside a bath house at a campground, never actually walked in. I have heard the horror stories from people that have much more experience than we do and right out of the gate with the first RV we choose to avoid them, plus most new RV resorts are doing away with them. We are self contained no need to use a public restroom over our own. while on the road my DW has a book with dump station locations along routes, when needed we utilize them to empty tanks, as I am typing the something else came to mind, most of those dump stations are not in a convenient location, time is of the essence at those as I can recall several that caused a traffic problem within the parking lot while emptying.

[mweiner]

jleamont- YES, I understand and appreciate what you are saying... about time.

I'm retired now, so, the essence of time is NOT as precious as it was when I was working and commuting.. which added two hours or more to my day... when it comes to waiting, let me tell you that living in Los Angeles gives new meaning to patience.   Traffic is 24/7 here, people are everywhere, so, the best place for the "fortress of solitude" is in my own living room at home! 😂😂😂

As far as "horror stories" at campsite bathrooms... yeah, some are better than others, and I appreciate that it's not for everyone. 

If I didn't want to have a camping experience, then I would have never left my home. I guess that we all have tolerance for certain inconveniences and I'm not adverse to using a public shower facility.. not dissimilar to what you might find at your local health club. 

As far as new RV resorts..I've been to a few, like Flying Flags RV Park in Buelltton, CA, and can report that it's one of the cleanest facilities I've ever seen... 

I used to be a Facilities Director, I understand clean facilities....and appreciate them. 

For us, with the smaller RV, using the park facilities is perfect for us... AND, we're very mobile, easier to move on to a new location. And , you're correct, our tanks are much easier to purge. I can see your point about 137 gallons.. that's a lot.  We don't have any problem getting close to dump stations with our highly manueveable rig. 

[tbutler]

I purchased a Flojet macerator many years ago.  It wasn't the portable model, ours is installed in the sewer compartment.  I can hook up a 3" hose to the tank outlet and it goes through the macerator.  I don't use this routinely but it is very handy when a close sewer outlet is not available.  At my mother's home, the clean-out mentioned in one of the posts above was about 70 feet from the motor home.  It was easier than driving 10 miles to the nearest dump station.  Lately we've been staying at our daughter's home in California.  Their clean-out is about 50 feet away.  We use it for our long term stays at their home.  I don't know how far I would have to go to find a dump station from their location.

It does take longer to empty the tanks than a 3 inch hose.  If it is taking a half hour to dump, it is probably because the impellers are worn.  The impellers push the chewed up waste through the hose.  They are made of rubber and will wear out.  When it starts to take longer than usual it is time to replace the impellers. 

Flojet pumps are used in marine applications, I used to purchase the rebuild kits at West Marine.  I just checked and they carry Flojet fresh water pumps but not the macerators.  But with further checking, they do carry Jabsco macerators.  Flotjet is a Jabsco product.  So you may be able to get them there.  PPL Motorhomes also sells Flojet, they may have rebuild kits.

I wouldn't want this as the only means to dump tanks but it is a handy alternate method and I wouldn't be without it.  Oh, and the other reason is that you are going to have a hard time getting a 3" hose to work uphill!  It seems to be a health regulation in the northeast US, that all sewer connections must be at least 6 inches above ground. 

[BillAdams]

My coach had a macerator installed when I bought it but it did not work at that time.  It used a separate discharge line so you could choose the 3" standard or you could use the macerator which discharged on the opposite side  (Hee Hee).

When I has some other work done they removed the non-functional macerator.  Just for fun I pulled it apart to see why it was not working.  Wrapped around the impeller was a pair of panty hose!

[wildebill308]

At the last rally we had some one selling a clean out service for your gray and black tanks. I spent some time watching what he did and how it worked. He had a special hi pressure pump set up with a hose and adapters where he could hi pressure clean your tanks. There was a clear section in the drain hose so you could see what was broken loose and flushed out. The first coach had a macerator installed. He got a lot of "stuff" out of that one including the gray tank. The second coach used the standard 3" hose and only dumped when 3/4 full and had a black tank spray built in. He got nearly nothing out of those tanks. 

I think for some special applications it may be beneficial to have a portable macerator to use. I have seen that you don't get the complete dump with one you get using the 3" hose. I will stick to my old fashion 3" hose setup.

Bill

[mweiner]

At our last camping trip, they had a mobile "honey wagon" service... they charged $30 and offered to come directly to your location.....We didn't need it, but, I'm sure that some people were willing to pay for this, especially since some of the rigs in the park were over 40 feet.